Yet So Far
by californiarolldreams
Summary: Gale watches Katniss being tormented by the jabberjays. And by his own voice. Oneshot.


Yet So Far

[oneshot]

A/N

I love the Hunger Games…once I finished Mockingjay, I just sat there, just thinking about it. These books are so powerful.

This story is set during Catching Fire. The scene originally is way too long, so I had to shorten it some.

Enjoy!

Gale's shoes crunched on the rocky gravel as he began to walk home from his daily shift at the coal mines. His hair and the rest of his face covered with a layer of soot, he tried to dust off the ever-growing layers of ash with his hands. The cold wind whipped across his face, reddening his cheeks. He shoved his fingers into his pockets, and his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried, always led to Katniss.

She was the world to him, and she knew that. Gale knew that the only reason he and the rest of her family were alive was because of Peeta. And no matter what, Gale owed him his life. The cursed Hunger Games took her away from him, twice; he had nothing to look forward to anymore. Every day, it was the same routine. Rise at dawn. Check in at the mines. Work non-stop until your eyes are almost blinded as you see the sun at the end of the day.

He fisted his hands in his pockets, suddenly regretting throwing Cinna's gloves back at Katniss. The reaction on her face, the one of shock, nearly sent him back to her apologizing, but he knew that he couldn't do that. It was his pride in stake.

Gale finally reached his house, dreading the mandatory television viewing he knew was coming. He'd have to watch Katniss trust Peeta with her life and he would be the one protecting her, not Gale. And the thought made him sick.

He opened the door, shouted a greeting to his mother.

"Get in the living room, Gale. It's time to watch," she called back, almost sadly.

Without replying, Gale took off his shoes and coat and threw them on the floor. He walked to the living room and sat on the floor, near his brothers.

The viewing began with a shot of the Cornucopia, surrounded by glistening, almost impossibly blue water.

_No place for a girl on fire_, he thought wryly. The Capitol wasn't stupid.

The words "75TH HUNGER GAMES: VICTOR'S QUARTER QUELL" appeared, then quickly faded away. The anthem played over giant loudspeakers, hidden in the arena. Then the camera panned down to a shot of Katniss, Peeta, the tree girl, Finnick, and the two crazies from District 3.

They seemed to be in a quiet discussion and the camera zoomed in to hear their words. Gale could feel himself straining to hear Katniss's voice as well.

"No, it's my turn," Finnick says.

"I'll at least watch your back," Peeta replies.

"Katniss can do that," says the tree girl, Johanna, "We need you to make another map. The other washed away." She aggressively pulled a leaf off of a tree and handed it to Peeta.

Katniss stayed silent, with the weapons in her hands. Her face was stoic yet uneasy, and Gale knew that she was worrying.

"I wonder why she looks like that," Hazelle commented, noticing Katniss's expression as well, "When it's obvious that all the contestants are looking out for her and Peeta."

Gale nods, agreeing. To defy the Capitol, the players were helping keep Katniss, the symbol of the rebellion, alive. And to do that, they had to keep Peeta alive as well. Peeta's words were almost magical – a great weapon in the forces against the Capitol.

"Katniss, got that spile?" Finnick asks.

She slices the vine that ties the spile to her belt and holds out the spile.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoes in the distance. A voice- so familiar that even Hazelle's eyes widen and her eyes glue to the television.

It's Gale's voice.

Katniss abruptly drops the spile onto the ground and runs off toward the sound.

"Gale!" she screams, "Gale!"

Gale stares at the television in shock. How had they gotten the cry so close to his own voice? He hadn't been tortured, which was probably what Katniss thought the sound was coming from.

Rory covers his face with his hands, tears trickling down his cheeks as he watches his friend, almost his older sister, stumbling around blindly for nothing. Posy is already sobbing into Hazelle's side as Hazelle gazes at the television, tears pooling up in her eyes.

"Gale!" she cries desperately, the vines cutting into her face, drawing blood. Sweat is pouring down her face and her eyes were wild. "Gale!"

"IT'S NOT ME, KATNISS!" Gale yells at the deaf television, fists angrily clenched at his sides. "IT'S NOT REAL!"

Katniss can't hear him. She tears through the forest, still calling his name.

"Why does me in pain…affect you so much…when you have Peeta?" Gale whispers, sitting down slowly. He ignores the salty tears coursing down his face and wipes them away angrily.

She finds the source of the cry. A jabberjay. A single cursed jabberjay. Gale strikes the television, momentarily stunning it before the broadcast comes back on. His fists, already callused, start oozing out blood. He ignores it, tears clouding his vision.

Katniss shoots the bird and throws it into the forest as Finnick comes lumbering in behind her.

"Katniss?" Finnick calls.

Gale turns away from the television. Without saying goodbye, he picks up his coat and boots off the ground and walks out the front door.

It was time to make the Capitol pay.


End file.
